


For Life?

by Lady_Blackwater



Series: Oakland's Very Own [9]
Category: Black Panther (2018), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Black Character(s), Domestic Fluff, Erik Killmonger Has Feelings, Erik Killmonger Lives, Erik Killmonger Redemption, F/M, Family Dynamics, Fluff and Humor, Marriage Proposal, Multi, Post-Black Panther (2018), True Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:55:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25731697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Blackwater/pseuds/Lady_Blackwater
Summary: Sometimes things work out in Erik’s favor.
Relationships: Erik Killmonger/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Oakland's Very Own [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1353331
Comments: 7
Kudos: 21





	For Life?

**Author's Note:**

> I would die for my beta, HalcyonSeasons

CJ has a plan. 

He’s usually not good with plans. 

_ This _ plan is solid though. 

At least he thinks so. 

The teenager hypes himself up, mentally repeating “you got this, you got this” while shimmying his shoulders and shuffling his feet. He softly knocks on Erik’s office door. 

“Come in!” 

CJ flashes a wide smile his godfather’s way as he enters and takes a seat on the black leather sofa stationed in the corner. Erik’s eyes squint, carefully analyzing the boy from his spot at his desk. He momentarily stops typing on his desktop, removes his glasses—that he surely wears for aesthetics and not because he needs them—and folds his hands over his stomach. 

“A’ight, how much you need?” he asks resignedly. 

CJ’s eyebrow quirks upward. “I don’t need money,” he insists. “Why you just assume I'm here for something?” 

“‘Cus that’s the face Miss Thing be giving me when she either A, wanna bother me or B, wants some money.” Erik smirks. “So which one you want?”

“Oh, c’mon, E.” CJ continues to smile. Remaining positive is part of the plan. “A nigga just can’t come enjoy some quality time with his favorite godfather? Y’know, young black men like ourselves gotta stick together.” 

Erik almost bursts out laughing but instead snorts as CJ keeps grinning, unaware of how painfully transparent he is. 

“Right,” Erik agrees and leans back in his desk chair. “So, what’s up?” 

CJ is up and making his way over to the desk at lightning speed, voice hushed like the walls aren’t supposed to hear. “I need advice, man.” 

“About?”

“Look, there’s this guy—” 

“Shoot him.”

That earns him a look of utter disapproval. 

“What?” 

“ _ That’s _ your solution to everything?” 

Erik shrugs. It hasn’t steered him wrong before. 

“Nah, he’s not a bad guy,” CJ explains and then hesitates. “He’s… I’m— I  _ like  _ him.” 

Realization sets in a second later. “Oh.” Erik nods. “A’ight,  _ don’t _ shoot him then.” 

“We been friends for a minute,” CJ tells him, pacing and nervously playing with his hands. “He’s out already, but I don’t think he knows I’m gay, too or that I’m not  _ out _ out, y’know? We’ve always hung out as friends in groups, but yesterday, he asked if I wanted to chill just us two. Do you think he like me or am I tweaking?” 

Erik takes all that in and nods again. “That’s what you needed advice on?” 

CJ stops, lips curling up. “Well,” he sighs. “I’ve never been on a date before. I mean, shit, I don’t even know if it’s a  _ date _ like how I think it is ‘cus when two people go out together, it’s a date, right?”

“Typically.” 

“I just don’t know how to go about this.” 

“What he wanna do?” 

“There’s this drive-in theater doing a classic horror films marathon. He’s into that scary shit, with his weird ass.” 

A multitude of scenarios flash in Erik’s mind, but he keeps them to himself as CJ goes on. 

“I just don’t wanna mess up, E. I really like him and it seems like he like me, too, but this our first time alone.” CJ’s heart would pump out his chest if he wasn’t clutching himself. “What if he kisses me? I ain’t never kissed nobody but my mama and some Build-A-Bears when I was a kid.”

Erik keeps another laugh to himself. “It sound like regular first date nerves. You stress beforehand, but when actually you with ol’ boy, it’s gon’ be cool. You gon’ forget why you was nervous in the first place.” 

“You think so?” 

“Mhmm.” 

“How did you feel before your first date?” 

“Please,” he scoffs. “I don’t even remember her name, let alone how I felt.” 

_ That figures. _ “What about your first date with Sisi? I know you remember that.” 

“I wasn’t nervous.” Or at least he doesn’t remember being nervous, but even if he was, he’s not admitting that to CJ.

“What y’all get into?”

“Well, if we talking officially, we went to this lil’ club event downtown for some flop rapper,” he remembers fondly. “Made it rain on some strippers and popped hella bottles.” 

“Doesn’t sounds like much of a date.”

“It is when you grown.” 

CJ doesn’t know what he expected. “I need tips, though.” 

“A’ight, so here we go.” Erik sits up in his chair and begins counting off his fingers. “Put yo phone on Do Not Disturb. Bring travel-sized mouthwash for after you eat ‘cus gum ain’t doing shit if he wanna kiss you. And if it get there, keep that tongue in yo damn mouth ‘cus nobody wants an inexperienced slob down.” 

CJ’s face burns. “Not even a little tongue?” 

“What I say, lil’ nigga?” 

“Okay, fine. No tongue.”

“Bring chapstick. Even if he initiated the date, offer to pay for something anyway. Compliment his outfit, even if it’s busted. Hold that nigga hand. We like that shit.” 

“What if he puts his arm around me?”

“Then you just got an arm around you,” he answers as though it’s obvious. 

“When’s an appropriate time to kiss him, though?” 

“Damn, CJ, I don’t have  _ all _ the answers.” 

“Well, when did you kiss Sisi?” CJ urges, hands up in frustration. 

“Why does that matter?” 

“It just do! Ain’t no way y’all would’ve worked if God wasn’t on your side anyway.”

Now that makes Erik laugh. “You a trip.” 

“C’mon, E, just indulge me. I don’t have no other examples.” 

“As many times as you seen  _ Love & Basketball _ ?” 

CJ crosses his arms over his chest and regards him with an annoyed glare. 

“This convo dumb as hell but fine,” Erik gives in and rubs his temple. “It wasn’t no magical Cinderella and Prince Charming type shit, a’ight? We was feeling each other and shit came naturally.” 

“Are you sure?” The boy begins pacing again. “I’d say you the Cinderella in this situation, and Sisi was Prince Charming.”

“Do I look like a lonely white bitch to you?” 

“Hmmm,” CJ hums with a smirk. 

“Anything else you need advice on?” 

He shakes his head. “I mean, I’m still nervous but I think I got this,” he admits, a smile reappearing on his face yet again. “Imma need help picking out an outfit though.” 

“Bet. You need to see ya godmom about that intimacy bullshit, though, ‘cus I don’t know ‘bout that.” 

“I will when she get home.” CJ turns for the door and shoots one last smile on his way out. “Thanks, E!” 

“Mhm.” 

There’s barely five seconds of silence before CJ pokes his head back in the office and sheepishly avoids eye contact. 

“Oh, by the way, I am gon’ need some money. I just ain’t wanna mention it first thing,” he whispers. 

Erik rolls his eyes upward. “How much?” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Sienna almost can’t comprehend what she walks in on when she arrives home that afternoon. 

There’s no sense in CJ donning a pair of low rise maroon leather pants, a crop top, tiny sunglasses and a honey blonde wig Sienna no longer wears, and yet, here he is modeling the look in the middle of the room.

She stops at the entrance, looking him over and then at Erik’s disapproving expression. He’s clearly feeling himself, so she allows him a few more moments before bursting his bubble. 

“CJ.” 

He jumps, instantly turning to the sound of her voice. Erik hides his snicker behind a hand and looks off to the side. 

“Yes?” 

“Why are you dressed like early 2000s Christina Aguilera?” 

“I was going for J.Lo,” he answers, dipping the sunglasses under his eyes. 

“That doesn’t answer my question.” Sienna dumps her baby blue LV bag onto the vanity and inspects the ensemble up close. 

“I was helping him pick out an outfit for his date tomorrow night,” Erik explains, keeping his giddiness to a minimum. “He look good, don’t he?”

Amusement spreads a reluctant, glossy smile across Sienna’s face. “If he’s accepting a VMA for Best Female Pop Performance, sure,” she says and crosses her arms. “I refuse to believe this what y’all came up with.” 

“We didn’t come up with anything yet, actually. E said my clothes was wack.” Cj removes the wig and glasses and then hands them to Sienna. “We was just being stupid.” 

“Clearly.” Sienna giggles, tosses the wig somewhere in the closet, and puts the glasses on. “First date, huh?” she says, unbuckling her platforms before plopping beside Erik. “Is this with that white boy you was telling me about or is this someone different?” 

“You stressin’ about impressing a  _ colonizer _ ?” Erik exclaims in disbelief, and Sienna huffs in exhaustion.

“Nah, this a different one.” 

“Oh, lemme find out my boy got hoes,” Sienna teases, gesturing to her godson. “Hoes in every area code.” 

“Lil’ nigga got options,” Erik chimes in with a laugh. 

A slight pink tinge burns under the hue of CJ’s even, brown skin. “It’s not like that. This dude is a little bit more special, okay?” 

“Aw, CJ’s got a crush!” 

“Sisi, c’mon…” 

She shakes her head, standing to her feet. “No, it’s sweet! We gon’ get you right.” 

“I don’t need nothing too flashy or crazy. We just going to see a movie.” CJ follows her into the closet and takes a seat on the closet bench. 

“You can still flex at the movies,” she tells him, already pulling pieces from Erik’s side of the closet. “I mean shit, I showed the fuck out on me and E’s first date. Remember that, babe?” 

Erik nods. “Sho’ do. I don’t even know where that lil’ purple dress is now.” 

“Purple dress,” she repeats, thinking. “What purple dress?”

“You know what purple dress.” Erik leans to the side on his elbow to call towards the closet. “That dark purple joint made from that stretchy bandage shit.” 

“I definitely wore a white two piece set,” she corrects him and the outfit materializes in her head. “Wide leg pant, hella titty hanging out, Louboutin pumps.” 

Erik thinks for a moment and shakes his head. “Nah, it was definitely that dress ‘cus ain’t no way your bougie ass woulda worn white to a club.” 

“The club?” Sienna whispers to herself and drops Erik’s clothes onto the island. “Boy, we went to that waterfront seafood restaurant on our first date, not the club.” 

Erik smacks his teeth. “I know you remember that event with that mumble rapper ass nigga who everyone booed off the damn stage.” 

“Oh, I remember,” she agrees, carefully analyzing a pair of Erik’s ripped black jeans. “But that wasn’t our first date.” 

“Yes, it was.”

“No, it wasn’t.” 

“Yes,” he insists, nodding to himself. “It was. I remember ‘cus you was mad as shit witcho drunk ass cussing me out about never wanting to see me again when we was leaving.” 

“Do you remember why?” 

“Lord only knows.” 

CJ takes the jeans from Sienna and pairs them with a silk, multicolored striped button down. “He seems sure.” 

“He seems dumb,” she concludes and holds up other shirt options that match the jeans and then calls out, “If I remember correctly, which I do, I was mad cus that groupie bitch was in your face all night and she thought it was cute to throw her drink at me.” 

“Deadass?” CJ gasps.

“Mhm,” Sienna hums, placing a hand on her hip and emerging from the closet to stand at the entrance. “And then I popped that bitch in the mouth, didn’t I?” 

The memory comes back to Erik like clockwork, and the image of a maddened Sienna manhandling a girl half her size with her face and the front of her wig drenched in Hennessy and Coke does  _ a lot _ for him. 

“Actually, you dog walked her across the VIP section by her edges, and then popped her in the mouth before security broke shit up,” he adds. 

“I sure did, huh?” Sienna nods proudly. “Still wasn’t our first date though.” 

“I know damn well we ain’t go to eat at a seafood restaurant, especially with my allergies.” Erik shakes his head. “I wasn’t about to fuck around and die tryna feed some shorty I just met.”

“Except we did, though ‘cus you was tryna impress me when I told you I loved seafood, simp.” 

“Shit don’t even sound like me.”

“Yeah, well there’s no way in the fuck I woulda agreed to going to the club as a first date,” Sienna reiterates. 

“Maybe  _ you _ was tryna impress  _ me _ ,” he suggests, and the mere idea projects a cackle out of Sienna that could rival a witch’s. He eyes her funnily, cutting her laugh short. 

“Wait, you’re serious.”

Erik brushes it off with a scoff and a shake of the head. “Anyway, I remember that night clear as fuck.” 

“If that was our first date, I woulda never went out with you again.” 

“But you did, though.” 

_ He has a point. _ Sienna’s hands rest on her hips. 

“That just don’t make sense. I know it was that restaurant. The club had to have been another time.” 

“Y’all know you supposed to be helping me, right?” CJ reminds them, laying out an outfit. 

“Well, it’d be easier to do so if  _ Erik _ just admitted that we went out to eat like a normal couple and not the club,” Sienna says. 

“Nah, but if  _ Sienna _ admitted that we definitely didn’t—” Erik leaves the sentence in the air and shrugs like a point has been made. 

Despite being the youngest and clumsiest resident in this house, CJ has concluded in the months he’s lived here that he is also the most mature. Hearing Sienna and Erik playfully go back and forth about shit that didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things is significantly better than living with his mom and her boyfriend. 

“What does that have to do with—” the teenager starts, but elects not to ask because knowing them, they won’t have an answer. 

The debate goes on for what feels like forever, so CJ tunes them out while trying on Erik’s clothes that he actually fills out now that he’s been going to the gym with him. Several outfits later, he settles on the black jeans and models a sweater when his phone vibrates with a text from his date. 

He’s so caught up in smiling down at his device that he doesn’t notice Erik and Sienna have gone silent because they’re watching him. He clenches at their sudden presence behind him in the closet and quickly drops his phone like it’s on fire. 

“You, uh, figure out y’all’s thing?” he asks, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. 

Sienna’s eyebrows raise curiously. “No, but I really can’t wait to meet this young man if he got you all smiley-smiley.” 

“You not gon’ embarrass me, are you?” 

Sienna and Erik share a glance that could mean anything knowing them. For his own sanctity, CJ pretends he doesn’t notice the sly exchange. 

So far, the plan is going well.

  
  
  
  
  


Erik not remembering their first date does not sit right in Sienna’s spirit, even a day later.

Typically, she wouldn’t care—okay, maybe she would—but the fact that he’s so insistent on being right makes her care. She remembers every intricate detail about their relationship from how they met, their first kiss, what she wore when she met his cousins, and anything in between. 

In Erik’s defense, that date was fun. She did enjoy throwing Erik’s money on strippers, downing all the free alcohol available, and beating that girl’s ass for trying her. She remembers that purple dress, too. She looked fine as hell in it, and Erik took every opportunity to tell her she did; that Henny and Coke stain never did come out of the material though. 

Considering the huge crush she had on him, it wasn’t  _ totally  _ out of her character at the time to agree to a date at the club with Erik. Truthfully, she would’ve endured a lot worse if it meant spending time with him. The embarrassment of being that gone on some nigga would make her cringe if that some nigga didn’t end up being  _ her  _ nigga.

“Why you looking at me like that?” Erik’s eyes never even leave the television. 

“How you tell I’m looking at you from all the way in here?” she asks, reverting her attention back to the half dyed wig atop the mannequin head. 

“I can feel it.” 

Sienna harrumphs and continues working. Her tendency to stare when she’s deep in thought is none of his business. 

“How long you gon’ have an attitude?” he wonders aloud. 

“Until you admit I’m right.” 

“That’s all you care about.” 

“It just don’t make sense, is all I’m saying. There’s no way there would’ve been a second date if that was our first.” That’s a lie, but he doesn’t need to know that. 

“I’m not gon’ keep going in circles about this.” 

Before Sienna responds, CJ enters. He’s washed, groomed, and dressed in the flowy pastel top tucked into the black jeans and Converse. 

Erik whoops encouragingly at the sight of him and sits up. “ _ This _ nigga.”

Sienna exits the bathroom and claps excitedly. “Oh, you look so cute!” she cheers, but CJ frowns. 

“Just cute?” 

“Like, grown cute. Handsome.”

Upon further notice, she takes in the gold glitter shimmering in the corner of his eyes, the mascara accentuating his already long eyelashes, and hot pink fingernails. 

“Oh, you pulled out all the stops, didn’t you?” she says, admiring his manicure and makeup. 

“Yeah, I got the idea from  _ Euphoria _ .” 

Sienna gives him a once over, nodding in approval and then leads him to the vanity. “You need some jewelry.” 

“Nothing flashy,” he reminds her. 

“I’ve got you.” 

While Sienna rummages around the multiple drawers for her rings tray, there’s a knock at the front door. 

CJ freezes, clutching himself like always. The noise that emits from him can best be described as somewhere between a squeal and a grunt. 

“I got it,” Erik announces and the mischief isn’t lost in his tone. CJ makes the noise again, but Sienna shoots Erik a look. 

“Be nice.” 

“I  _ am _ nice.”

“Regular nice, not your version of nice.”

Erik flashes his gold fangs like the demon he is on his way out. “I’mma go  _ Bad Boys II  _ on his ass.”

“He’s such a supervillain,” CJ groans, stretching his fingers out so Sienna can slip on the chunky boho rings. 

Sienna shakes her head. “He just messing with you. He know how important this is to you, and he not gon’ do nothing to fuck with that.” 

“You sure?” 

“Positive,” she promises. “And if he does act out, it’s just ‘cus he cares about you. He just funny about showing it.” 

“Every day I wonder how he pulled you.” 

Sienna chuckles. “Yeah, me, too. Let’s get you some cologne.” 

Much to everyone’s delight, Erik is on his best behavior conversing politely with a young man in the front room when CJ and Sienna descend the stairs. The teenager’s warm and inviting, brown eyes light up as he waves at CJ whose face is a milimeter away from splitting open with how hard he’s smiling. 

“Sisi, E, uh, this is Tyler,” CJ introduces, pointing to his date and then his godparents. “These my folks.”

“Nice to meet you, Tyler.” Sienna takes a protective step in front of CJ and extends her hand for a shake. Tyler’s giant hand encases around hers and shakes delicately while his white teeth sparkle in a distracting smile. 

Tyler is CJ’s height, tan skinned, and blessed with remarkably pretty, dark features from his shoulder-length hair to his eyes. His style is very skater, and it reminds Sienna of something out of a Zumiez catalogue. Either way, it’s clear to see why CJ is smitten.

“Nice to meet you, ma’am,” he replies and digs his hands back into his pockets. 

“What movie you guys seeing?” she asks. 

“It’s this classic horror movie marathon, so a little bit of everything.” 

That doesn’t sound like something CJ, someone who barely got through  _ Scream  _ without running out of the living room terrified, would be into, but Sienna gets it. Having a crush makes people do shit they normally wouldn’t. 

“Sounds fun.” She nudges CJ forward. “You got everything?” 

CJ pats his pockets and nods. “Yeah.”

“Great! You kids have fun, okay?” 

“Bye, guys! Let’s go, Ty.” CJ waves and loops his arm around Tyler’s elbow to drag him out of the house as fast as he can. Sienna catches the front door before it can close. 

“Be home by eleven,” she instructs, and makes sure to meet both of their gazes as they climb in the grey Honda Civic and drive off down the street. 

Erik comes up behind her to shut the door and hooks an arm around her hips to pull her away. 

“C’mon, Mamas,” he grunts, his chest rumbling against her back. “You gotta finish that head.” 

“You think he gon’ be a’ight?” 

“He know how to handle himself.”

Sienna nods, somewhat convinced as she makes her way back upstairs with Erik close behind.

“His date a cutie-pie,” she says. “But if something pop off, I won’t hesitate to fuck that lil’ nigga up.” 

“He definitely wasn’t a nigga.”

“He wasn’t a colonizer, either. My point still stand.” 

Instead of laying back down on the bed, Erik follows Sienna into the bathroom and takes a seat on the marble steps leading to the tub. He watches her pick up where she left off; it’s the little mundane shit like this that makes him happy he didn’t die in Wakanda. 

“We got the house to ourselves for a few hours,” he announces, swinging his knees back and forth. “I was plannin’ on taking a lil’ bath. A nigga could use some company.” 

“Call up the bitch at the club who threw a drink in my face.” 

It’s physically impossible for Erik’s eyes to roll any farther back in his head. “You petty.”

“I’m just saying’, E.” 

“You draggin’ it.” 

“‘Cus I know I’m right.” 

“Why does it matter?” 

Sienna points the tint brush towards him, hand on her hip. “It’s our first date, E. That’s hella significant.” 

“According to?” 

“That’s one of the main stories you tell your kids about, y’know? It’s like a staple in the relationship. It’s what people ask.” 

“This not no  _ Disney _ shit,” he sniggers, utterly amused. “If we keeping it a hunnit our first date was that party.” 

“Where I almost got shot and busted my leg? Absolutely the fuck not.” 

Erik’s laugh bounces off the walls of the bathroom. “You so dramatic!” 

“And besides, I definitely wasn’t even feeling you like that for it to be a date, let alone our first.” 

Another lie but whatever. 

“Yeah, that’s what you say, but who you go home with?” 

She dabs pink dye on the ends of the unit, totally unfazed with Erik’s version of flirting. 

“You kidnapped me.” 

“I wouldn’t have kept you this long.”

“Yeah, that’s what you say, but who you come home to?” 

He laughs louder this time and gets to his feet. Minutely distracted from the coloring job, she watches Erik stalk towards her through the large mirror and twists her mouth to the side to resist smiling. He catches it anyway. 

Arms settling around her waist, Erik buries his face in her neck to peck and nip her skin. 

“It’s rare we get the house to ourselves nowadays,” he whispers. “I know you don’t wanna spend time being mad at me.” 

“I’m not mad, E,” she corrects him, sectioning a piece of hair off and dabbing her brush in the dye set on the counter. “Just a lil’ annoyed.” 

“Look, if it’ll make you feel better, we can start over,” he suggests between kisses. “Introduce ourselves. Have a do-over first date so we won’t forget. Pretend we don’t know each other that well or whatever so you can quit asking me about that role play shit you wanna try.”

Sienna glances up at the mirror and she’s shocked to find herself actually grinning. There’s no logic in his dumb idea, but it sounds so fun coming from Erik’s mouth. 

“I don’t let niggas I just met be all up on me,” she tells him and wiggles out of his grasp. 

“That’s exactly what you did at that party where you allegedly almost got shot and busted your leg,” he reminds her, and she grimaces at the accuracy. 

She hates when he’s right. 

“Okay, you know what? Fine.” Sienna exhales in feigned defeat. “When I finish this order, you got me all to yourself, but I don’t wanna take a bath. I’mma put on my favorite swimsuit and we’re going out back ‘cus we ain’t had a night swim in a minute.” 

Erik’s eyebrows raise. “A’ight. That’s solid.” 

“Can you get out my face now? I’m tryna work.” 

“My bad,” he apologizes, landing a loud, echoing smack to her ass. “Hurry up before my dick get hard.”

“Unbelievable,” she utters to herself, watching him on the way out of the bathroom. 

He’s really something else. 

Well, he’s  _ her _ something else, so she can’t complain too much. 

  
  
  
  


“Do  _ not _ bring yo’ ass over,” Erik warns from the deepest end of their L-shaped pool. “I’m not a lifeguard.” 

“Shut up, E,” she hisses, but retreats backwards until her feet are firmly planted on the granite bottom. “You need to be a good boyfriend and teach me how to swim anyway.” 

“I tried that one time when we first moved in, but you was tripping, trying not to get your hair wet.” 

She doesn’t remember that but it definitely sounds like her. “Well, teach me now,” she demands.

Erik glides towards her with ease to promptly hauls her up in his arms bridal style. She squeals at the suddenness and grips for dear life around Erik’s neck as he wades them over to six feet. 

“Relax, Princess,” he eases her. “You good.”

“You stay lifting me up for no reason.” 

“You like it.” 

It’s a staple in their relationship she couldn’t do without now that she’s so used to it. 

“Yeah, ‘cus ain’t nobody ever been able to.” 

“That’s cus you was fucking with a bunch of niggas with Spongebob arms.” 

Sienna’s guffaw reaches beyond their backyard and up to the stars. “Boy,  _ please _ . That lil’ purple flower got you all swole, so miss me with the bullshit.”

“Did I lie?”

“Look, I wasn’t tryna get with no muscley niggas making me exercise and eat rabbit food. And I don’t know where they get it from, but skinny niggas got hella dick so they just seemed like the most suitable option for a bitch who don’t like to exercise and loves big dick.” 

Erik hums in understanding. “I can’t picture you with no skinny chick, though.” 

“Nah, you know that’s not my type.” She twiddles a lock of her pressed hair around her fingers in thought. “Can’t really picture you with a skinny bitch, either. You like them girls with big ol’ fat asses and titties.” 

“Guess that’s why we work so well.” 

“I appreciate you not making me exercise and eat rabbit food.” 

“I don’t even eat that shit.”

Sienna cocks her head sideways, fat bottom lip jutted out. “So, you gon’ teach me how to swim?” 

“Now?”

“Please, E?” she pleads, batting her eyelashes like a cartoon character. “You say this ain’t no  _ Disney _ shit, but the Little Mermaid is black now, so c’mon.” 

His annoyance is purely put on, but she can’t help pushing him. 

“She literally falls in love with a Prince Eric,” she urges as he continues to glare at her like he’d rather be anywhere else on Earth. 

“Please tell me you seen  _ The Little Mermaid. _ ” __

“I’m an adult.” 

“Nigga, how’ve you gone this long without seeing  _ The Little Mermaid? _ ” 

“Easily.” 

Why is she surprised? This is the most Erik thing ever. 

“Oh, now we gotta watch it.” 

“I’d rather teach you how to swim.” 

She grimaces and rocks her body about to replace the usual stamping of her foot to get her way. “You no fun! We can put it on the projector and watch it out here! Please, baby? We haven’t done nothing like that since CJ’s decathlon team spent the night.” 

Erik doesn’t seem like he can be bothered until Sienna’s pout reaches maximum cuteness, and he disinterestedly gruffs out, “Whatever.” 

“Yeah!” she cheers and kisses his cheek. “You get some snacks while I grab the screen and projector.” 

“Can’t believe I’m agreeing to this.” Erik shakes his head and assists her out of the pool before pulling himself out. “We could just watch it in the basement.” 

“Yeah, we could but there’s a thrill in watching a movie that takes place underwater in the pool,” she reasons, sliding her feet into custom bedazzled slippers and grabbing her cell phone from the lawn chair. 

Despite the pool and home theater, the spacious garage was the real reason Erik bought this particular house. His car collection is steadily growing by the year and even with Sienna reminding him he can only drive one at once, he insists on bringing another home at random times like stray dogs. 

The white screen is rolled up right where CJ left it in the utility closet, but the projector is nowhere in sight. Sienna thinks for a moment, straining to remember where one of them left it. After searching through the junky closet as well as some storage bins and coming up empty, she shoots CJ a quick text asking if he remembers where the device is. 

His answer is almost immediate, and Sienna can’t help smiling at the fact that CJ didn’t put this phone on Do Not Disturb like Erik advised.

_ we took it for movie night at Outreach so it should be in the back of E’s Range.  _

Sienna unhooks his keys from the wall and beeps the vehicle alive. The trunk is a mess as usual, but she’s grateful he took his weapons out and designated this as the family car.

“And he say  _ I _ got a problem,” she mutters under her breath, tossing around random clothes and gym equipment. She’s halfway in the trunk, digging like a coal miner for the projector when something flashy catches her eye. 

The gift bag printed with her favorite local jeweler’s logo isn’t large enough to hold a projector, but she peaks inside anyway and gasps aloud at what’s inside. 

A pastel pink ring box looks back up at her as if to say, “ _ You found me! Go ‘head and open me, witcha lookin’ ass!” _

So, that’s exactly what she does. 

Her heart plummets right into her stomach, and for the first time in a long time, she’s speechless.

The diamond is  _ huge _ . 

Sienna knows fuck all about karats, but she knows this. Diamond. Is.  _ Huge _ . 

It’s pink just like the box, cut like a cushion, and nestled beautifully within a glitzy halo and two rows of white diamonds of varying sizes. 

It’s quite literally the most beautiful jewelry she’s ever laid eyes on even if she wasn’t supposed to. 

She could play dumb and act like she has no idea why Erik would have this hidden away in his truck, but any scenario surrounding that makes no sense. This is exactly what she thinks it is; it’s exactly what teenage Sienna always wanted. 

And now it’s happening. 

Her stomach erupts with flutters, and for a split second, she thinks she’ll be sick. Is she going to vomit? If she does, she’ll aim away from the ring because it’s so gorgeous it shouldn’t have to witness such a thing.

The utter shock and confliction of finding it halts all sense of her surroundings which is why she screams and breaks out in goosebumps at the sound of Erik’s voice. She half-turns to gauge his reaction and then swiftly faces the truck again. 

“You weren’t supposed to find that,” he tells her calmly. 

Sienna’s racing heart sinks deeper into her stomach. She refuses to turn around again because if she does, shit will get real. 

“You did a shitty job of hiding it.”

“Fuck,” Erik exhales frustratedly, just at a loss as she is. 

The hair on Sienna’s arms bristles at attention as she gains the confidence to speak. “What do this mean, E? Like,  _ what is this _ ?” 

“Don’t play like you don’t know.” 

“Just pretend I really don’t and just enlighten me then.”

Erik approaches her and pecks a soft kiss against her shoulder. “I got it months ago,” he explains. “I had a plan, but then CJ moved in and I wanted to focus on getting him right before anything else.” 

“A plan,” she repeats, easing into his touch. 

“Yeah, it was gon’ be a lil’ lowkey something. Ya parents know everything.”’

That’s when tears prickle her eyes. “Yeah?” she says wistfully and can barely make out the ring through her blurred vision. “CJ been here for a minute now. Why still you ain’t ask me?” 

“There just ain’t seem like a right time.” He shrugs and moves stray hairs escaping her bun to the side to keep kissing the skin there. “A nigga was nervous. I ain’t know if you was gon’ say yes.” 

A tear falls down her cheek, and  _ fuck _ , why is she crying? Is she happy? Relieved? Her body tends to do dumb shit like this when she’s overwhelmed, and any other time, Erik would condemn it for his own comfort. 

Instead, Erik plucks the box from her hand and caresses down her arm. “I spent a hella long time designing it and shit.”

“I can tell. God, it’s gorgeous.”

“I got the idea from  _ The Pink Panther _ , actually,” he chuckles. “I know that’s yo’ movie.” 

Now she’s really gonna cry. It’s her movie mainly cus of her love for Beyoncé and “Check On It” being one of the greatest songs ever, but the movie itself does leave her in stitches.

“You seen that but not  _ The Little Mermaid,”  _ she murmurs, turning to face him finally. “Jeez, E, how am I’m supposed to feel when you don’t even remember our first date?” 

He shrugs nonchalantly, acutely aware of Sienna’s tendency to say any and everything in the face of excitement. 

“I do, though,” he corrects her. “You had that purple dress making your ass look fat as fuck. Can’t forget an ass like that.” 

Sienna slants her gaze, but he laughs it off and continues. 

“You may not think I be paying attention but I do. I know you had on those tiny ass Versace heels, white nails you got done before coming up, and that long black wig that had my bathroom looking like ol’ girl from  _ The Ring.”  _

So far, he’s right. Sienna sits on the edge of the trunk, arms crossed as she listens.

“After you WWE’d that girl and got us kicked out the club, you did  _ not  _ hold back. If you wasn’t drunk as hell, I woulda took you serious when you said you  _ never  _ wanted to see me again. You was supposed to spend the weekend at my crib, but you wanted to be with Willow, so I dropped you off at her house. 

“Next morning, I called you and begged like a bitch for you to let me make up for how the night went. This was before you knew a nigga could die if he merely whiffed a crab, so of course, you wanted seafood. And you definitely did wear that white joint, ass still fat, titties out, same wig and shit,” he recalls as though it were yesterday. “I told you get whatever you wanted and—”

“Eat until I wasn’t mad at you anymore,” she finishes for him. She was  _ full _ that day. 

How did he remember that and she didn’t? 

“I feel  _ so _ dumb,” she admits. 

“To be fair, it was a fucked up way to end a date.” Erik glances down at the ring. “I feel bad you seen it. It was finna be a surprise.” 

“Well, I  _ am _ surprised.”

He nods to the side and with another exhale, all that runs through his head is  _ fuck it.  _

“You could act like you never saw it,” he prompts and takes Sienna’s left hand in his. “Or you could answer some’ for me.” 

Either Sienna is about to have a heart attack or her soul is about to explode right out of her body. Whichever one happens, she’ll be happy regardless. 

“Yeah?” 

Not once in her life could she have ever imagined N’Jadaka Udaku aka Erik  _ thee _ Killmonger on his knee—let alone to propose—presenting her with an engagement ring the way he is now. It’s an unusual sight to see, but she can barely process it through the tears overflowing in her eyes and down her cheeks. 

Even as she blinks hard to force herself to wake up from this obvious dream, he kneels there smirking like the suave jackass he knows he is. 

“You tryna fuck with me?” he asks. “For life?” 

Of course, he had to be such a nigga about it. 

Her mouth says yes, even when she doesn’t hear herself say it due to the bells ringing and technicolors in her head. Erik stands and slips the jewelry onto Sienna’s finger.

Without a second thought, her arms loop around Erik’s middle as her face makes a home in his chest to cry like she’s never cried before. 

The happy tears sting her face, but she can’t get them to stop. Erik holds her close, leading a trail of kisses from her forehead, down her wet cheeks and then tilting her face up to capture her lips. 

“It’s so pretty,” she gushes once she’s calm enough to actually articulate herself. “Damn, E. Like, fuck, this ain’t no homemade shit. This shit is in different areas.” 

“I’m nice like that.” 

“I just wanna stare at it forever.” Hand outstretched, she wiggles her fingers to see the diamonds sparkle. “Leave it to you to propose right when I need my nails done.” 

“No one told you to find it, nosey ass.” 

“You chose the worst hiding spot ever, conspicuous ass.” 

Erik pulls a face, nudging her out of his way. “Girl, move so I can find this projector before you find the damn band, too.” 

Sienna nudges him right back and then grips his bicep. “Oh, nah, damn the movie,” she says, tugging him to the garbage entrance. “We going upstairs. I’m ‘bout to fuck the shit outta you.” 

Her bluntness snatches the words out of Erik’s mouth. His initial shock is instantly replaced with arousal, and she’s over his shoulder in mere seconds.

  
  
  


Sienna makes cute faces at herself as she waits for the FaceTime call to connect. When it finally does, her mother appears less than enthusiastic at most likely being woken up. 

“Girlie, someone better be goddamn dying with you calling my phone at almost damn near—” she starts groggily, but before she can get into the bulk of her cuss-out, Sienna flips the camera around to showcase the newest addition to her jewelry collection. 

Mrs. Vermillion’s scream instantly alerts Sienna’s father who rushes into the bedroom, cussing and searching for danger. His complaining is barely heard over his wife’s insistent “ _ He did it! He did it! He did it! _ ” chants. 

  
  
  


After chatting with her parents for nearly an hour, Sienna watches a few shows queued up on her Netflix to pass time waiting up for CJ. She’s really not watching so much as she’s taking pictures of her ring while the show plays before her. 

CJ enters the house at eleven on the dot, grinning like the cat that got canary as he skips around the front room. 

“Have fun?” Sienna asks when he wanders by the family room. He dances to imaginary music over to her and dumps himself beside her. 

“God, Sisi,” he sings with a wistful sigh. “I’m pretty sure I’m in love with him. I’m gon’ marry him. Oh, my god.”

“Yeah?” 

“Yes. Yes. A thousand times yes.” 

Sienna wraps an arm around him and cuddles him close to her. His head rests on her shoulder while their hands intertwine beneath the multicolored blanket.

His index finger absently rubs over her ring without realizing what it is on account of him being entranced in his own love bubble. 

“So,” she says, muting the television. “Tell ya godmom how it went.”

CJ wouldn’t be able to stop talking, even if he wanted to.

It’s safe to say, the plan was a success. 


End file.
